DEP’s New Secretary -

On February 13, 2004, Governor Bush appointed Colleen M. Castille as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). On February 27, 2004 Castille moved from her position as the Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs to begin her new duties as DEP’s Secretary. Under her leadership, DCA did and continues to offer technical assistance to local governments and residents while supervising community growth, environmental assessment, disaster planning, community revitalization as well as comprehensive planning and affordable housing. Secretary Castille has worked to bring local government support for improved wastewater management, land conservation acquisition, and the protection of natural habitat in the Florida Keys. She was also appointed by Governor Bush to the Wekiva River Basin Coordinating Committee, where she served as vice chair.

Both the Governor and many environmental groups are impressed with Castille’s dedication, experience and passion in the environmental arena. Before being appointed to DCA, Castille served as chief cabinet aide to Governor Bush and specialized in environmental matters. She researched and helped develop Cabinet policy regarding Local Government Comprehensive Plans, Areas of Critical State Concern, Developments of Regional Impact, Water-use Disputes and Community Development Districts. Colleen M. Castille, 44, was born in Japan where her parents were stationed with the United States Air Force. Castille received a degree in International Affairs from Florida State University.

St Marks Refinery litigation –

Over the past 3 years, the Department has spent more than $12 million at this 55 acre Facility in Wakulla County, Florida dismantling tanks, removing contaminated soil and disposing of solid and hazardous waste. The Facility was used for the past 50 years to produce and store asphalt, pentachlorophenol and petroleum products. Extensive assessment and monitoring at the property revealed impacts to the St. Marks River, adjacent wetlands and the underlying groundwater. Regulators also discovered contaminants, including dioxins, at levels well above state standards. In January 2004, the Department filed a civil suit in Leon County Circuit Court against the following owners and operators of the Facility: American International Petroleum Company, St. Marks Refinery, Inc., Seminole Refining Corporation and James T. Young. The complaint seeks completion of the cleanup, recovery of the more than $12 million in clean-up costs, penalties for environmental violations and financial compensation to restore damage to natural resources. Two of the defendants have failed to file a timely response to the Department’s complaint and a default was entered. Discovery in the suit is ongoing.

Clean-up Target Levels and Global RBCA Rule Workshop - On February 26, 2004, another workshop was held on Rule 62-777, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), Contaminant Clean-up Target Levels and on the new Global Risk Based Corrective Action Rule 62-780, F.A.C. Some of the issues discussed were: the use of risk based corrective actions, terminating remediation without Department input and the status of current consent order or voluntary clean-up agreements. The comment period for the proposed rules ended March 19, 2004. The latest draft of the rules and a risk management options flowchart is available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/wc/pages/
CombinedRuleWorkshop.htm